Cadillac

Cadillac has announced a new trim package for its ATS called the Crimson Sport Edition. This special edition of the ATS will only be produced during the spring of 2014 and features a unique Crimson Red Metallic exterior. Cadillac will offer the Crimson Sport Edition with a number of options.

Cadillac will add Siri Eyes Free support to its CUE infotainment system later this year, but still shows no signs of jumping on the Apple CarPlay bandwagon, seemingly reluctant to allow iOS a foothold on the dashboard. The new version, which will be offered on 2015 Cadillacs from midway through this year, will also include text-to-speech.

Cadillac is throwing in a high-speed charger to sweeten the deal for 2014 ELR buyers, addressing range anxiety with a 240V home charging station that should get drivers of the luxury coupe back on the road in pure-EV mode quicker. As we found when we drove the ELR last November, the car can operate in either fully-electric or range-extended modes, with the latter kicking in the gas engine when the batteries get low. However, the higher voltage charger should mean drivers can spend more time without burning fuel.

Cadillac has unveiled the 2015 ATS Coupe, a compact luxury two-door based on the ATS sedan, and one of the first of the marque's cars to get "Connected by OnStar" 4G LTE integrated. Hitting showrooms this summer, the ATS Coupe will offer a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive and two engines, for what Cadillac claims is a "distinctive American alternative" to the BMW 428i and other rivals.

Forget phones and tablets, the next big thing in mobility really can move. Audi, so the latest rumors claim, is readying an announcement that it will put Android on future car dashboards, supposedly set to unveil a plan for NVIDIA-powered infotainment systems alongside Google at CES 2014 next week. The deal is said to be a strike back against Apple's play for the car industry; yet, not every car manufacturer is so keen to throw in with the mobile heavyweights. Soon, the battle lines will be drawn: do you embrace smartphone platforms on your dashboard, or stand against them?

Cadillac appears close to green-lighting a production version of the striking Elmiraj concept, the monster touring coupe pitched right at BMW's 6-Series, with GM president Mark Reuss saying it's "the car Cadillac needs." Elmiraj, first previewed back in August and then brought out to a broadly positive reception at a number of car shows, was initially seen as a styling exercise at most, given GM's luxury arm was seen as next building a flagship sedan to best challenge the high-end. However, the greater potential for a hyper-luxe coupe to grab mindshare seems to be giving GM execs second thoughts.

GM has given up a bit more detail behind what it took to design the sexy Cadillac Elmiraj concept car. The car has been on display at the LA Auto show and was first seen back in August. GM says that the design of the Elmiraj concept car required extensive use of 3D scanning.

The Cadillac ELR is an important car for quite a few big reasons. Cadillac itself admits it has been playing catch-up in the luxury sedan market, pitching the ATS and CTS as more virile US alternatives to the typical options from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, but with the electrified ELR it's finally an opportunity to strike at a niche where the Germans aren't playing yet. Borrowing the torquey electric drive of GM's Volt but leaving behind any sort of hair-shirt eco sacrifice, it's an angular slab of luxury that, thanks to its own onboard generator, promises to be the headache-free EV discerning drivers have been waiting for. Then again, it really should be: with a sticker price just short of $76,000, the ELR is firmly in Tesla territory. We grabbed the keys of one of the very first production ELR off the line to see if Cadillac has a potential winner on its hands.

This week the folks at Motor Trend have unveiled their 2014 Car of the Year award as going to the 2014 Cadillac CTS. This award works with a variety of vehicles, open to any "all-new" or otherwise substantially upgraded 2014 model car - including 22 models and seven finalists up for battle this year.

GM has announced pricing for the 2014 Cadillac ELR, the company's luxury extended-range hybrid coupe, and despite the similarities to the Volt under the bodywork, the eco-Caddy certainly won't be cheap. The two-door will have a sticker price of $75,995 including destination charge when it hits forecourts in January 2014, excluding tax and other fees, but GM points out that tax credits of up to $7,500 could bring that down to $68,495.